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Sword of Empire: Praetorian

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Sword of Empire: Praetorian

By: Richard Foreman
Narrated by: Sam Devereaux
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About this listen

171 AD. Rome is at war with the northern tribes - and is yet to win a significant battle. The Germanic armies have crossed the Danube and have attacked the Empire, slaughtering thousands. The Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is losing the support of the people and the Senate. Yet he has formed a plan he believes will change the balance of power in the region. Aurelius has dispatched an officer in the Praetorian Guard, the centurion Gaius Maximus, to escort the son and daughter of a powerful German tribal chief back to their village through enemy territory - in hope of arranging an alliance with Rome. But Maximus, to complete his mission, must contest with enemies at home, as well as abroad. One man will change the fate of an Empire, or die trying.

From the backstreets of Rome, to the forests of Germany, and onto the Battle of Pannonia, Sword of Empire: Praetorian is the first book in a new series from the best-selling author of the novel Augustus: Son of Rome - and the Sword of Rome collection of novellas about the campaigns of Julius Caesar. For fans of Simon Scarrow, Ben Kane, and Conn Iggulden. Richard Foreman's books have been widely praised.

©2013 Richard Foreman (P)2016 Audible, Inc. Ancient Fiction Historical Fiction Military Rome Stoicism

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All stars
Most relevant
While the plot had all the pace of action and adventure the narration was slow inconsistent and oddly phrased

A tried and tested story

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The novella starts with an attack on a young man and his sister, children of a German tribe leader, in Rome, 171, the man being left for dead and the girl taken with the attackers. It holds great promise as an exciting, somewhat different tale. Although born German, both had lived and been educated in Roman society since childhood and believed themselves now to be fully Roman. But war with Germanic tribes was underway ...

Although subsequently moving into more troubled areas of military action, the story was uninspired in it's telling and not helped by the slow, rather flat performance by the narrator, Sam Deveraux (although increasing the the playback speed to 1.3 helped it on its it's way).

Interesting times, though. 'There is a storm coming, Rufus: the plague, the war ... And the rise of Christian dissidents.'

"Time is a river of passing events."

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